Mindfulness means to be aware of your surroundings and your circumstances, including where you are and what you are busy doing. At the same time, mindfulness includes not being overwhelmed by your current environment.
The journey of mindfulness
The practical ways that you can practice mindfulness and become more aware of yourself and your surroundings, while enjoying the full range of emotional and mental benefits it has to offer.
“We must go beyond the constant clamor of ego, beyond the tools of logic and reason, to the still, calm place within us: the realm of the soul.”
– Deepak Chopra
Meditation
The most obvious method for practicing mindfulness and reaching a state of improved self-awareness is meditation. Meditation alone already has many mental health benefits for those who practice regularly, including improving memory and alleviating less severe symptoms of anxiety or depression.
To get started with meditation, simply sit upright in a comfortable position, and then close your eyes and breathe naturally. Pay attention to how you are breathing without making an effort to control it. You should keep your mind from wandering as much as possible and, if and when it does (it will), you need to gently bring your focus back to your breathing patterns, without judging yourself or getting frustrated.
“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try, the world is beyond winning.”
– Lao Tzu
Letting go of emotions
When it comes to emotions, it is important to observe your own feelings, but in such a way that you are not judgmental of yourself. It is perfectly normal and healthy to experience both positive and negative types of emotions, such as anger, happiness, sadness, frustration and more. Try to identify each emotion and add it to an appropriate category. This will help you become more aware of your own emotions. Do not hold on to the emotions that you are experiencing. Instead, notice them, accept them, learn from them, and then move on.
“Be yourself, but always your better self.”
– Karl Maeser
Achieving a state of self-awareness
Practicing mindfulness may not be an easy task when you are only getting started. You might find it difficult to observe your own emotions without judging them. You might also find it difficult to become more aware of yourself without judging the smaller things you experience.
It’s a long and ongoing journey. But once you reach a state of self-awareness, you will notice that you automatically start to gain more control over different aspects of your own life.
For example, you will still experience angry emotions, but when you are more aware of yourself, you will be able to recognize it and let it pass, instead of clinging to whatever made you angry and allowing your feelings to overtake you and bring you down.
The more you practice mindfulness techniques, the easier it becomes to be fully aware of your surroundings without being judgmental and without feeling overwhelmed by what is going on. Soon, you’ll begin to experience a state of loving kindness, a higher quality of life, and the ability to have more control over your mind.
Join me on July 26th-28th, 2019 Mindfulness Retreat, immersion yourself with the true nature of Koh Samui, Thailand and allow your mind to rest and recharge.
And Mindfulness Retreat at Nam Hai, Hoi An Vietnam, offers an illuminating connection to three extraordinary UNESCO sites from a private kilometre-long stretch of one of Forbes’ “best beaches in the world.” on October 10th-12th and November 29th-December 1st, 2019
For inquiry, please email buathon@drbuathon.com
Dr.Buathon 